ADSL South Africa - What is consumer activism? 

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What is consumer activism? Consumer activism is in reference to the intentional action taken to fight for the rights of consumers through peaceful and some times violent means.

Consumer activism can come in many forms:

• Writing of Letters - The writing of letters to newspapers, politicians or any individual or organisation of influence in a bid to push for change. ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) for example write articles in a bid to push for positive change in SA. 

• Strike Action - Commonly known as a strike, normally happens when people 'down their tools' on a massive scale and refuse to perform any work or where they intentionally work slow (slow strike). These types of strike action, although not always good for the country as a whole, have proven to be very effective in South Africa. 

In addition, strike action can be taken in the form of a hunger strike where you basically refuse to eat solid food in the hope that someone will feel sorry for you and do what you ask or what you demand. This type of strike action normally fails to have the desired effect because in many instances they force feed you through a feeding tube that goes through the nose or mouth into the esophagus.

• Demonstration - Another form of consumer activism is non-violent street marches or demonstrations by groups of people in favour of a certain cause. This normally involves walking in a march and a meeting or rally to listen to speakers. 

A sit-in or blockade, where protesters seat themselves at a strategic location, is another form of non-violent demonstration. A sit-in is very effective because it normally draws a lot of attention because of the disruption it causes. Sit-in protesters are normally removed by force or arrested, which can win a lot of sympathy from the public to further their cause, especially when non-violence is met by violence.

On the other hand, a sit-down strike is when protesters occupy the area in which they would be working and refuse to move, making it almost impossible to make use of replacement workers or scabs.

• Boycotts - Another form of consumer activism, normally for political reasons, is the voluntary refusal to use, buy or deal with an individual, organisation or country. 

• Political Campaigning - This form of consumer activism can be seen as an organised effort to influence the decision making process within a certain group. Political campaigning can be highly effective but only when its backed by the mass media. Even the noblest of causes will not achieve the desired results if the mass media doesn't support it. Guerrilla tactics remains the only option open when the mass media doesn't support one's cause, but only after one has exhausted all other venues and one's timing is right. 

• Guerrilla tactics - This form of consumer activism, which must always be used as a last resort, is the use of physical force to achieve one's goals. Guerilla tactics  are normally used in unconventional warfare (combat) where a small but highly mobile group of combatants use mobile tactics, ambushes and raids, to combat a larger and less mobile formal army consisting of regular soldiers. This form of consumer activism can be highly effective although it can have a high cost in terms of the lives lost, etc.